Creative energy ideas abound

by Robin B. Lipinski
Many an idea has been pondered in humanities past. Some ideas, such as the idea to create a wheel, sure made our lives better and other ideas, such as the creation of the game called “Lawn Darts,” were probably not one of the best ideas put to use as many a punctured person, dog, cat, etc. could attest to.
Recently, there has been much talk about electricity on the Kenai Peninsula. This talk started in earnest last year after the electric bills and fuel bills started to spike. Many ideas were put forth such as coal mines up north, hydro power, tidal power, wind power, solar and “magic boxes” that made electricity out of thin air and those are all great ideas to ponder about. Well, maybe not the “magic box.” But no matter how you look at it, each idea is full of problems.
Coal is a dirty word for many people even though new technology has made the conversion of it into electricity much more environmentally friendly, but the fact remains that coal and coal plants are up north and not in our backyard.
Hydro power is wonderful provided it is located in the correct place and does not interfere with that wonderful lifestyle many Alaskans hold near-and-dear, that being salmon, bears and cash laden tourists. There is much support for hydro yet there are those who would rather have the “magic box.”
Tidal power? Just watching the massive amount of water surging in the Cook Inlet every day would make any engineer calculating the massive potential and kinetic energy swoon in mathematical joy. However you’re dealing with federal and state entities, fish, Beluga whales, sea otters, salmon sharks, mussels, clams and crabs, let alone the practical aspects such as the corrosive elements of salt, power transmission and such.
Wind power is wonderful provided the wind is blowing or at least if there is an election year going on what with all that hot air blowing about, but it too is filled with problems such as site placement, maintenance and cost. If the wind is not blowing, then all a person has is a large lawn ornament.
Solar is one of my favorites as it is passive, efficient and reliable. A little known fact is that mono-crystalline panels actually work very well in the winters of Alaska because the cold temperatures drastically raise the efficiency. However, no matter how efficient they are in the winter, you still need sun and from now until February, I’m thinking the “magic box” idea is a better one. Now in the summer, solar is sure the way to go.
We are blessed on this peninsula with many things, the most important being that we live here and not Outside. And as for potential energy production we are in the midst of two realistic ones, the first being bio mass. We are surrounded by dead and rotting trees. We are also surrounded by alders that grow everywhere and faster than the moose can eat them.
Two men in Missoula, Mont. recently engineered and built a wood gasification plant. They used new technology but the concept is an old one used extensively in past wars when fuel was rationed and in short supply. Their method is environmentally friendly and consumes fifty pounds of wood chips an hour to supply enough electricity to supply 15 homes. Their idea could be scaled up to supply much more or one only need look at what some power plants or large sawmills produce using wood biomass. The new technology makes it friendly to the environment and cost effective, especially with the current electrical rates we pay on the Peninsula.
There was a company that was going to produce wood pellets near Anchor Point. Their idea was good but their cash flow was not, so that was another idea put to rest. However, the site that they picked is next to the power lines, it already has the buildings in place and it would not take much imagination to build an electrical plant that would have virtually an endless supply of biomass. The new electrical plants can use dead, green or whatever bark-covered plant is put into it. This would provide a stable supply of electricity, and local jobs that would support truck drivers, loggers, electricians, foresters, engineers, stores and other direct and in-direct jobs relating to just our producing our own power. Also, the forest would benefit from proper management which in turn would be better for the wildlife. Of course, for some, this is a bad idea and they still would rather have the “magic box.”
The second idea is one that also could make “cents” (I love our English language) that being natural gas. I know that recently much talk has been made about building a pipeline outside and sending the gas south so that people there could run their air conditioners so they could cool off in the summer after playing a grueling game of “lawn darts,” but then we also hear that there is a shortage of natural gas in South Central Alaska. It gets one confused listening to all this recent news, but what I do know is that after talking with some people who know much more about natural gas then I ever will is that we are sitting on top of a whole lot of it.
The idea I envision is to not build a massive plant and pipe the gas to the plant, but instead put the new technology built by Capstone, a company located in California that manufactures an air bearing turbine that does not use lubricating oil or anti freeze. It is a turbine that can run for what some people call “forever” with little maintenance. It almost could be considered the “magic box” if it were not for the fact that it needs gas to function. Natural gas, swamp gas, methane, landfill, diesel, whatever gas is handy. It is very efficient and when you factor in that when used as CHP (cooling/heating/power) the efficiency is over 80 percent, whereas your average internal combustion generator is down in the 30 percent or less range. The units are self contained and very easy to install.
When the Capstone generator is used to produce electricity and heat, it is a combination that maximizes the gas burned. It is environmentally friendly and the company produces generators up to 10 megawatt capacity. These could be sited next to gas wells and the power transferred over power lines. And this is where the idea gets the “Alaska” twist. The heat produced could be used in green houses also set up near the well sites and produce could be grown here in our back yard year round…But then again maybe I’m just a dreamer thinking of ideas on par with lawn darts. Hey, it’s winter now and too cold for playing tag with a brown bear on the Russian river, so thinking is all I have left.

Robin Lipinski is an Anchor Point resident who uses solar/wind power and experiments with other alternative technologies.

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